Thursday, January 16, 2014

Something fishy comes in above average

This installment of the adventures of Average Joe takes our hero to a land of chopsticks, soy sauce, miso and seaweed.

Yes, you guessed it: Schenectady. Well, Niskayuna technically. That's where Joe often ends up when a hankering for sushi strikes. Because Upper Union Street is the domain of Mr. Wasabi.

There is a surprisingly ample selection of sushi joints in the CR. (remember the OC? I think new branding is how we make the Capital Region hip again. Let's get on this, people of the CR.) For me, Mr. Wasabi hits near, or perhaps at, the top of this list.

First off, the menu is solid. Not so big as to be overwhelming, but long enough to accommodate all tastes, from California Roll (OC Roll?) lovers to sashimi snobs.

I like to get a simple sushi dinner oftentimes. Nothing crazy, just chef's choice of sushi with soup or salad. But the fish is always quality -- tasty and fresh. Equally satisfying is ordering up a few rolls to split up. Wasabi's "signature rolls" can get wild, with tempura, Sriracha and interesting wraps getting into the mix. It can be a nice departure.

Mr. Wasabi also carries a full range of Japanese dishes -- teriyaki, katsu, tempura, udon... but if you come for the sushi, that's what you'll stay for.

10 comments:

AVERAGE JOE, we as readers are sick of hearing about something fishy, this is like bad company, it is becginning to smell due to age. How about bringing this section up to date with a current topic, instead of this one which is almost a month old.

BRING BACK JIM FRANCO, at least he knew how to run a newspaper. You don't have to ask why the Record is in a downward spiral, with the lousy and unprofessional, uneducated, juvenile staff trying to run this local rag.

Looks like the Record is reached a new low in its reviews of restaurants and movies. The staff must be made up of students from school 2, with the unethical and way off and delinquent and overdue reviews of eateries and movies, we need more professional employees to write these reviews, not some punk ass kid with connections to a politicians.

Lets stop the backstabbing and acting like Facebook and get back to the topic at hand, FOOD CRITIC. If the current food critic is not up to the task of his anointed job, then time to dump the chump. Lets go back to the way it was, or even better, pay a good, well educated female, that is versed in the culinary delights of random restaurant reviews, and pay her accordingly.

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Too many restaurant reviewers come with a big side dish of personal ego. Average Joe believes that satisfying his palate doesn't have to come with pretension. Going out and having a good meal in a friendly place is a great time that Joe looks forward too. Fine dining? Only if Joe can dress like he does for work. Keep the wine list and the glass too for that matter, Miller Lite in the bottle is most likely Joe's preference. The food at your restaurant should as good or better than what Joe's mom cooked for him, and certainly better than what Joe can whip up or grill himself. The prices should be fair, and Joe agrees that quality is better than quantity, but tasty and plentiful is a good thing too...